Baylor rallies for 79-64 win over BYU

Saturday

Dec 22, 2012 at 8:49 AM

WACO, Texas (AP) - Baylor senior point guard Pierre Jackson scores his points and shares the ball as well. Isaiah Austin, the Bears' 7-foot-1 freshman, can make 3-pointers along with his strong inside play.

And they're not alone in contributing for the resurgent Bears.

Jackson had 16 points with nine assists, and all five Bears starters finished with double figure-scoring as they rallied from a big early deficit for a 79-64 victory over BYU on Friday night.

"We played one of our (best), if not our best, team games. Everybody that came in contributed," Baylor coach Scott Drew said. "The first 7-8 minutes of the game, I think we got all the turnovers, bad defense, all that stuff, out of the way. And then I think we played really well."

The Bears (8-3) trailed by as many as 11 points in the first 7½ minutes of the game, but took control of the game with a 21-2 run over the final 7½ minutes of the first half.

"There are a lot of learning issues for our team and for our staff. We had some guys on the bench. We responded a little bit different," BYU coach Dave Rose said. "We took them out like we normally do when they get a couple of fouls, and then we put them back in. ... Obviously, that was a huge difference in the game. We got in at halftime down nine. It was quite a run."

Baylor took the lead for good when Gary Franklin's 3-pointer broke a 31-all tie with 2 minutes left in the first half. Another 3-pointer by Franklin made it 40-31 at the half.

"I've been in the gym a lot. I've been putting up a lot of shots, particularly after the last game, where I couldn't make a shot," Franklin said. "And then obviously having a point guard like Pierre Jackson, who's able to find anybody, he provided me with the opportunity to knock down a couple of open shots."

Brandon Davies had 26 points and 17 rebounds for BYU (8-4), which had a three-game winning streak snapped

The Bears, who earlier this season lost consecutive home games with a win at Kentucky in between, have rebounded with three consecutive wins - all at home. They play next Friday night at 14th-ranked Gonzaga, their last game before opening Big 12 play Jan. 5 at home against Texas.

Tyler Haws scored 13 points for BYU. He had the only Cougars basket in the final 7:50 of the first half after being on the bench for a bit because of two early fouls.

BYU led 19-8 with 12:45 left in the first half after consecutive baskets by Nate Austin. But Craig Cusick was then called for a flagrant foul, and Franklin made both free throws.

With just under 8 minutes left, Raul Delgaldo made a 3-pointer to give BYU a 29-19 lead.

Then Baylor went on its game-turning run, which Austin started with a 3-pointer. Jackson had five free throws and an assist on Franklin's half-closing 3.

"We didn't panic and we didn't start taking bad shots and trying to get it all back," Drew said. "It all starts at the point, and Pierre, I thought, was really good defensively and was able to pressure. Our bigs did a good job."

The start of the second half belonged to Jackson. He passed to Heslip for a 3, hit a short jumper and then drove for a layup after faking a pass to Heslip to put Baylor up 47-35 with 18:23 left.

BYU cut Baylor's lead to 49-39 on two free throws by Davies with 16½ minutes to play, but the Cougars got no closer. Jackson's 3 sparked a 16-6 run, including consecutive dunks by Austin, that put Baylor up by 20.

"They just battled us. All game long, it was a fight," Davies said. "They put a lot more pressure on us when they came out of a timeout and got a couple of stops in a row."

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